Kenya Defends Wildlife Deal with Thailand
Date: 11-Nov-05
Country: KENYA
Author: Daniel Wallis
During a visit this week by Thai Premier Thaksin Shinawatra, Kenya agreed to ship the beasts more than 7,000 km (4,350 miles) to jumpstart a tourism project in the Asian leader's home town.
Kenyan government spokesman Alfred Mutua said the move would boost tourism also in the east African country.
"We expect the number of tourists from Thailand will double or triple if they see the animals," he said. "They will want to see them in their natural surroundings."
He said Kenya will get technical help and training on wildlife management in return, and denied media reports the Thai government paid up to $1 million for the exotic creatures.
"The government of Thailand is not paying one cent or one shilling for these animals," Mutua told reporters in Nairobi.
No date has been set for the animals' departure, he added.
The exotic creatures include giraffes, buffaloes, flamingos and gazelles, and while no rhinos or other endangered animals are involved, the move has angered conservationists.
"This stinks very, very badly," Kenyan environmentalist Richard Leakey told Reuters.
"Collecting wild animals for export to zoos is deplorable, but the government has made this decision without any reference to the experts. It is mayhem and it is utterly disgusting."
Leakey, who headed the Kenya Wildlife Service between 1989 and 1994, questioned whether conditions would be adequate at the zoo, which is due to open in April in Thaksin's home town Chiang Mai.
"Zoos are very poor places generally," Leakey said.
PROTESTS
Thaksin, who was on a three-day official visit in Kenya, flew to the Masai Mara game reserve on Wednesday to watch elephants, lions and zebra roam the grassy savannah.
"There is a lot of misunderstanding here," he told reporters on Thursday during a visit to an upmarket Nairobi shopping mall.
"If you go (to Chiang Mai) you will understand it better and you will see, and those who criticise and attack without knowing will feel sorry about what they have said."
Outside the mall, dozens of protesters including women in traditional Masai dress waved placards including: "Wild animals need freedom" and "Conservation not exploitation".
"We are here because we want to protest and stop the exportation of our beloved wildlife," said Peter Londesati a Masai elder from Kajiado district, in Kenya's Rift Valley.
"We as the community are not being consulted."
Thailand has come under fire for its poor wildlife protection record, and remains one of the world's leading trafficking routes for animal smugglers, with several privately owned zoos accused of illegally obtaining orang-utans and other rare species.
(Additional reporting by Wangui Kanina in Nairobi)
